


Another Lies in Wait

by ursweetheartless



Series: Straight Six [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ursweetheartless/pseuds/ursweetheartless
Summary: They were working on something. It was nice, Tony had never really had anyone quite like James in his life before. Yeah, he’d had friends, very close friends even, and plenty of lovers, but James was more than that. James watched what he was doing in the lab, the way Rhodey used to, but he was always ready to help. Maybe Tony was just at a different place in his life now, more mature and less narcissistic, but he welcomed it.Natasha comes to visit and James gets a hair cut.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: Straight Six [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720822
Comments: 3
Kudos: 112





	Another Lies in Wait

**Author's Note:**

> Not what i'm supposed to be working on, i know, i promised more dark days and more choke chain, and it's coming. thats just rough to write at the moment. its getting less fun dark and more just emotionally dark as i go... -.-
> 
> enjoy this instead?

we don't say everything that we could  
so that we can say later, oh, you misunderstood  
i hold my cards up close to my chest  
i say what i have to and i hold back the rest  
-Anticipate, Ani Difranco

* * *

They were working on something. It was nice, Tony had never really had anyone quite like James in his life before. Yeah, he’d had friends, very close friends even, and _plenty_ of lovers, but James was more than that.

James watched what he was doing in the lab, the way Rhodey used to, but he was always ready to help. Maybe Tony was just at a different place in his life now, more mature and less narcissistic, but he welcomed it.

Like now, James was holding a piece of shielding in the air, tilting it at precise angles to fit over the little drone they were fabricating. He adjusted it a bit before Tony could even say anything, lining it up precisely with the other pieces.

Tony was finishing the spot welding, and James was talking his way through his somewhat complicated feelings about the audio drama podcast he’d taken to listening to in the gym.

“Boss, Sargent Barnes, you have a visitor on the Avengers' common floor.” Friday broke in. It’s Ms.Romanova. She seems to be attempting to subvert my security features at the moment, but I believe she will stay contained for the short term.”

Tony blinked in confusion, and a bit of anxiety. He could deal with most of his former teammates easily. Natasha was _clever_ though, and he felt like he couldn’t trust anything around her. Still, it would be both ridiculously petty and kind of suspicious if he didn’t talk to her. If he’d spoken to Rogers, he didn’t have a legitimate excuse to turn her away, but he didn’t want to face her either.

“Yeah, tell her I’ll be up, just have to finish this one thing,” Tony said, but he shut the torch on his gauntlet off and stepped back. “You wanna come up for this one? Or are you still holding back?”

James considered him silently, still holding the drone’s shielding in his hand.

“No judgment either way cupcake. Whatever you want.” Tony said. James nodded.

“I don’t trust her.” He said, flatly. “I don’t want to be in the room, she’s likely to trade intelligence with Rogers if it benefits her, but I don’t want to send you in alone either.

“We don’t know what she _wants._ We have incomplete information and I don’t like it.” James sounded genuinely torn at the dilemma.

Tony nodded, crossed the space between them to wrap his arms around James’ waist. He fit perfectly there, tucked under James’ chin with his face nestled against his collar bone.

“Natasha is on team Natasha. I know we can’t trust her, I’ve worked with her before, but she wouldn’t flip on me if she didn’t have anything to gain from it and I'm not sure Rogers has the... _currency_ he had before. ” Tony mumbled the words into James’ shirt. “I can take care of myself up there though, and Friday will let you keep an eye on us through everything. She’s here for something, she’s not going to hurt me before she can get it.”

James did _not_ seem convinced. He didn’t argue though.

* * *

“Natalie, honey, what a pleasant surprise!” Tony said around a smile. He felt like something was out of place as soon as he stepped off the elevator, but he didn’t spend enough time on the old Avengers floors anymore to put his finger on exactly what it was. Knowing Natasha she’d probably moved a few things, just to see if he’d notice. He always felt a bit like he was being gaslit with her, but he had no way to prove that.

“You’ve seen the data we dumped, correct? You know how SHIELD was compromised.” Natasha got right to the point, as always. Tony appreciated that at least. She wasn’t interested in pretending they were friends or anything.

“You have a new team, a partner at least. You’ve been fighting Hydra on your own.” She said, watching him carefully while she spoke. Tony didn’t like that part as much. “They’re very good, by the way. _highly_ skilled, obviously well trained.”

Tony tried not to tense, but he really didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. It’s not like he didn’t _know_ that James could take care of himself because he absolutely _could_. Tony was just a little protective, especially around his former teammates.

“Thanks, I’ll pass the compliment along,” Tony said, sarcastic and short. “If you’re just here to say something nice I’m gonna have to wrap this up pretty quick. We’ve got things to do.”

Tony turned towards the elevator, ready to leave, but Natasha caught his shoulder. The touch was light, relatively, but Tony still flinched. Natasha dropped her hand immediately, hurt flickering across her eyes for a split second.

“I want in.” She said it simply, and it wasn’t exactly a request. Tony wanted to laugh at that. “You’re taking Hydra apart, and I want to help. We’ll be more efficient if we share resources.”

Tony almost rejected the idea outright. They didn’t need help, and he didn’t particularly feel like sharing. He was fairly sure that Nat wasn’t a secret Hydra operative but that didn’t mean he trusted her. Instead, he considered it.

“I can’t make any promises, it’s a team effort. I don’t make the decisions by myself.” Tony said flatly.

“You’re mr.teamwork now then?” Natasha said, light and teasing. Tony wasn’t in the mood for it.

“Yeah, I’m capable of learning. Turns out, having partners who communicate like grown-ups and actually support each other makes teamwork a lot easier and more fun.” Tony added, tone biting and sharp. “We listen to each other. It’s great.”

Natasha watched him, carefully, her face a mask. Tony knew it was kind of a cheap shot but he didn’t really care.

“Fine. I can work with that,” she said after a careful moment. “You talk to your team, and I’ll talk to mine.”

It was a challenge, a clear line in the sand.

“To be clear, even if Rogers and his new sidekick weren’t busy searching for his old sidekick, I’m not working with him again,” Tony said bluntly. “I can be convinced to work with some ex-SHIELD agents, if you’re sure they can be trusted, but not _him._ ”

“Have you been keeping track of the captain?” Natasha asked, teasing and light again. Tony tried not to snap this time.

“He came by himself before he took off, trying to rope me into his quest for his bestie. I didn’t bite, but I’m not his keeper. I’m sure any and everyone on earth would hear about it if they’d reunited already.” Tony said it flippantly, but he could tell he’d said too much as a flicker of something danced in Natasha’s eyes for a moment. He had no idea what clue he’d dropped or what conclusion she’d drawn from it. He sighed. “Look, it’s been real, but I really do have to get going soon. I have things to do. I’ll keep your proposal in mind though. I trust you can show yourself out?”

Tony didn’t exactly run away, but he did hurry back down to the lab, which was similar enough to be uncomfortable. James was waiting for him at the door, though. He pulled Tony in, tucking him back away under his chin without saying anything.

They didn’t talk about it for the rest of the evening. Tony waited until James brought it up.

“I still... I don’t trust her. I knew her, before. At the red room. I know she made it out, traded one set of handlers for another. I just... I don’t know. I don’t trust whatever's left of SHIELD. I don’t know how much is Hydra, underneath.” James fiddled with the cup in his hand, swirling the coffee in the bottom as he stared into it. Tony shrugged.

“She’s not Hydra. I don’t trust her either, but I know that much.” Tony said. “I’d say we could use the help. We don’t have to give her much, we don’t have to share all our intel. Hell, she doesn’t need to even _see_ you if you don’t want her to.”

“No,” James said sharply, and he looked Tony right in the eyes when he did. “I’m not sending you out alone with her. I know it’s crazy, I just _am not_ doing that.”

“Okay,” Tony said around a smile, “well we can figure something out. Maybe some new gear? We can hide your identity if you want. I can give you a makeover.”

James smiled softly, the tips of his ears darkening as he ducked his head. It was adorable. Tony felt his breath catch for a moment because, yeah, there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t do for that smile. He knew it already, but he was fucked at this point.

“Hey,” Tony said, quiet and serious, “we don’t have to do _anything_ with her. Really, if you say no, I’ll respect your veto on this. We’re a _team_ here, Winter Wonderland.”

James looked uncertain, but he nodded anyway. Tony wanted to snap Hydra’s collective necks very badly in that moment.

“I trust you, Doll,” James said, certain but still unconvinced. “If you think she can help, that’s fine. I want to meet her team first, anyone she’s bringing. And I don’t want them to know who I am. If Rogers decides to pull his head out of his ass and stop chasing his tail, I don’t want him on our ass yet.”

“Whatever you want.” Tony said, fiddling with the front of James’ shirt, “We can make you a sweet costume whenever you want.”

* * *

James wasn’t attached to the way he looked, not really. Hydra had never paid attention to it. Some of their assets had tightly controlled images, the kind of chameleons that could appear like they belonged anywhere.

The Soldier was a ghost, Hydra’s blunt instrument, and if someone that wasn’t already marked for death saw him it was considered a failure on his part. They became collateral damage.

Once James had escaped Hydra, he’d mostly just become a ghost again. That skill set served him well on the run.

The thing was, spending as much time with Tony Stark as he did, it was getting to him. Tony was polished as fuck. Yeah, he wasn’t always perfectly put together, but even when he’d just woken up after catching a few hours of sleep on the couch in the back of the lab coming off a 36 hours work bender, he looked _good_ More importantly, he looked like _Tony._

James wanted something like that. Yeah, he knew he was never going to be _Tony Stark,_ that was way too much effort. He just wanted to look _decent_ while still looking like _him_. Staring into the mirror that hung outside the gym shower, he wasn’t sure how to get to that.

He was sporting a few days of heavy stubble at the moment, and his hair was long enough that he usually tied it back just to get it out of his face, but the ends were choppy and ragged now. He scowled at his reflection. He couldn’t remember the time before Hydra, not really, but he’d seen enough pictures to know how he’d paid attention to how he’d looked before.

It wasn’t that he wanted to look like Bucky or anything. Bucky just had a look. Bucky looked like he gave a shit, and Bucky knew how to get himself there. James just didn’t have any idea how to get back to that.

He was still standing there, staring at his reflection, studying it critically, when Tony found him.

“Hey James,” he said it offhandedly like he was just passing by on his way to the gym. James didn’t buy that for a second. Tony never spent much time in the gym, it wasn’t his thing. He usually just worked out in the workshop. Tony did everything in the workshop. He had a whole tower of his own and he used two floors of it.

“Tony, hey.” James tossed back, casual and loose. “I’m thinking about cutting my hair.” Tony turned him around gently with a hand on his shoulder. He studied James’ hair critically for a moment before running his hands through it, mussing it up and parting it over James’ left eye.

“Like a trim? Or like a real cut?” Tony asked. He didn’t give James clues here, just the idea that Tony liked one of those options and not the other, but James had no idea which one would get the Tony Stark seal of approval. He felt the anxiety at making the decision climb his spine.

“Dunno.” He said, “it looks all ragged now. Dunno what I wanna do with it though.”

Tony looked at him, really looked for a long moment, and James fought the need to shift and fidget because he _didn’t know the correct answer._

James had many handlers over the years. Some of them treated him like a tool, gave him orders and put him away when he was done. Some of them enjoyed fucking with him. They would ask him for reports and subjective answers he couldn’t give. They took joy in watching the programming twist him, and in punishing him when he gave the wrong answer.

The programming was broken now, but that conditioning remained. James felt his breath coming more quickly, and he fought to even it out. Tony slid his hand through James’ hair and cupped his jaw with a frown.

“Let’s go with a trim first, then. We’ll get you cleaned up, and you can decide if you wanna go further later.” Tony said, firm and cool, and James felt himself relax a little. “I’ve got a guy. I can have him come up this afternoon.”

James turned away from the mirror, studied Tony carefully. Tony shrugged, and grinned up at him, close enough that James could feel the warmth from his body.

“You can cut it later if you want, he can come up whenever. He’s usually good at just figuring something out too, if you give him an idea of what you want.” Tony said, then he ducked his head a little, cheeks a touch darker than before, “I think the long hair looks good on you. It suits you, yeah?”

James studied Tony’s face, the perfectly shaped facial hair, with just a touch of stubble breaking across the bare spots. His hair was messy, but it seemed carefree not unkempt. James knew he’d probably never achieve that kind of style, but maybe he could make _something_ work. Tony had people for this, and Tony always had the best.

“Yeah, sounds good,” James said. He turned back to the mirror, but he still watched Tony in the reflection, so their eyes met when Tony looked back. “You’re the one who knows how to look good. I trust your judgment.”

He did that a lot now, trusted Tony’s judgment. It had worked out so far. Tony’s answering grin made him sure he’d made the right choice there. It was a rush, making choices correctly.

“I’ll have Friday call him, and set something up. She’ll let you know when to expect him.”

* * *

The haircut had been... an experience. James hadn't been expecting much, but he got a pleasant older man who liked to talk, and when his first few questions had been deflected he settled for telling James all about his grandchildren, and how each and every one of them were doing, even though James had no idea who any of them were. It was nice, it felt normal.

And he'd felt lighter afterward, even though he hadn't lost much hair. Tony had said a trim when he talked to the guy, and the guy had double-checked a few times, but he just gave him a trim. He did leave a few bottles behind, an assortment of shampoos and conditioners and other products he thought James would like. One of them smelled like Tony's hair, so James had taken all of them with a smile, and set them up along the back wall of the oddly giant shower in his bedroom.

* * *

Natasha showed up to their next meeting alone, but Tony didn’t think for a moment someone wasn’t keeping an eye on them. They met on the Highline, somewhere in the middle. Tony was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap and one of the raggedy hoodies that James insisted on buying at the thrift store. Tony would admit, it was big and soft and comfortable, but he mostly liked it because it was James’. James was monitoring the situation remotely from the back of a car a block away, but it felt like he was here.

“Anthony, thanks for meeting me again,” Natasha said it with a believably warm tone, like they were friends. Tony didn’t know if it was part of the act or if she actually wanted him to believe that. She came bearing two cups of coffee, the fancy kind, and she offered one to Tony. Tony took it but set it down on the railing without taking a drink.

“Sure, Natalie, whatever. Do you have any information for me? Have you pulled together a team for our project yet?” Tony didn’t have to try very hard to sound disinterested, even if he was more than a little nervous being out here like this.

“I have a few former colleagues who’re looking for work at the moment. No one you’re familiar with, but I trust them.” She took a long sip of her coffee and slid a tiny flash drive towards him. “I assume you’ll want to vet them yourself but I trust them.”

Tony took the drive. They had a black box in the car he could throw it in until they were sure it wasn’t a tracker. For now, he stuck it in his pants pocket with a nod.

“There’s some more background in there too. Information for the project.” Natasha added.

“I’m surprised none of our former colleagues want in on this,” Tony said, studying the skyline in front of them. Natasha shrugged.

“Barton retired. He might come to help if we really need him, but he wanted to spend some more time with his family. They’ve relocated, by the way, it was getting a little too crowded around that house.”

“Pity,” Tony said, “it was a nice house.”

He could read between the lines there. Clint’s family’s location was probably in that data dump, along with the rest of SHIELD's agents and safe houses. Their families. That dump hurt a lot of people. Natasha had a bit more red in her ledger now and she knew it.

“I haven’t kept in contact with anyone, really. They’ve been busy, they’ve got other projects going on.” She said, “you’ve been the only one up to anything interesting lately.”

Tony didn’t take that as a compliment.

“We done here then? Because I have brunch plans I’d like to get to.” Tony said while watching the cars pass by under them. Natasha rolled her eyes but nodded.

“Yeah, we’re good. Just let me know when you’re ready. We’re here when you are.”

* * *

James pulled the car around and he was waiting there by the time Tony made it to street level. Tony slid easily into the passenger seat and leaned over to kiss James on the cheek. It was an impulse but it served its purpose. James shifted from his resting scowl to a soft smile.

“We really going to brunch, Doll?” James asked. Tony shrugged.

“If you want sweetheart. You got something in mind?” Tony replied. “I have no opinion on brunch, to be honest.”

James thought about it while he pulled them back out into traffic. They got in the left turn lane, headed downtown and away from the tower. Tony didn’t bring it up.

“I want those macarons, from that place in Chinatown,” James said as he pushed through the traffic light right before it turned red. Tony grinned and sat back.

“Whatever you want, Sugar Plum. Can we get coffee on the way? I want coffee.” James rolled his eyes. They still stopped for coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> comments, kudos, and concrit are always appreciated
> 
> thanks for reading <<33


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